9. SO LONG MAIDEN

The one about what it means to be Queen

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Do you know who Farrokh Bulsara is? I bet you do. The thing is—you know this guy based on his other name. 

I’ll give you a hint. Farrokh’s band was first called Smile. 

Need a little more?

“I want, I want, I want to break free!” Farrokh would sing.

Okay, okay. You get it. There’s no denying that Farrokh Bulsara broke free of the name he was given by his parents and became who he was destined to be: Freddie Mercury a.k.a. the king of the band Queen.

And yes, Queen’s first band name was Smile. Can you imagine some hard-hitting radio disc jockey saying: “And up next, we have: “We Will Rock You” by Smile.” Just doesn’t have the same edge. 

Freddie and the band changed their name to Queen in 1970.

You know what else happened in 1970?